Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Journal of Computer Education , cilt.2, sa.2, ss.18-28, 2023 (Hakemli Dergi)
During
the pandemic period, all levels of education, including pre-school, partially
or completely moved to online education as a means of emergency remote
teaching. With the transition to online education, teachers, students, and
parents became more aware of the use of technological tools in education. With
this awareness, parents have been introduced not only to technological tools
but also to new concepts related to children’s cognitive processes. These
concepts include computational thinking (CT), which has been frequently
encountered in different levels of education in recent years, and educational
robotics (ER) as one of the methods applied in the development of CT. Several
studies have been conducted to determine and improve the CT skills of students at
different educational levels, such as primary, secondary, and higher education.
At the preschool level, there are fewer studies on CT, which is mostly
addressed through unplugged activities and educational robotics. As a part of
21st century skills, the relationship between CT and pre-school education is an
issue that has been investigated to a limited extent. This descriptive
quantitative survey model study explored the opinions of parents of preschool
children about computational thinking and educational robotics applications.
The participants of the study consisted of 84 parents in Kocaeli province. The
participants were accessed through convenience sampling, and the data were
collected using an online questionnaire. According to the results of the study,
the majority of the parents stated that they believed that children in
preschool education should have experience in CT and ER. Parents stated that
they would like to learn more about the benefits of CT and ER for children and
their learning. In this direction, it is suggested to organize seminars
focusing on the importance and content of CT and ER for pre-school.